THE RELATİONSHİP BETWEEN MACROECONOMİC INDİCATORS AND HAPPPİNESS SCORES OF COUNTRİES

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between macroeconomic indicators and happiness scores of countries. In the study conducted for this purpose, happiness score which is the dependent variable was obtained from the World Happiness Report and 142 countries in this report constitute the universe of the research. Independent variables are gross domestic product per capita, growth rate, inflation, unemployment and government expenditures. All data related to independent variables were obtained from the World Bank database in 2017. As a result of the regression analysis using the Eviews program, it was concluded that while the gross domestic product per capita was positively and significantly related to the happiness level of the countries, unemployment and inflation rates were negatively related with it. It also found out that government spending and economic growth were not associated with happiness levels in this research. These results are expected to provide important information for policy makers to reveal macroeconomic determinants that affect the level of happiness.